For the first time, a primitive movie has been encoded in – and then played back from – DNA in living cells. Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health say it is a major step toward a “molecular recorder” that may someday make it possible to get read-outs, for example, of the changing internal states of neurons as they develop.
Although this technology could be used in a variety of ways, the researchers ultimately hope to use it to study the brain.
“We want to use neurons to record a molecular history of the brain through development,” said Shipman. “Such a molecular recorder will allow us to eventually collect data from every cell in the brain at once, without the need to gain access, to observe the cells directly, or disrupt the system to extract genetic material or proteins.”
Source: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2017/scientists-replay-movie-encoded-in-dna.shtml